Nehemiah 9:4-38

The Cry of The Levites To God On Behalf Of The People (Nehemiah 9:4-38 ).

What follows was presumably the culmination of the three hours of confession and worship, and was a summing up in prayer by the chiefs of the Levites in terms of Israel’s history, as their thoughts led up to a renewal of the covenant with God (compare especially Joshua 24:2-15; Psalms 106:0). It commences with the idea of YHWH as Creator and Lord of all (Nehemiah 9:6); moves on to the thought that He chose Abraham, and renamed him, and made a covenant with him to give him the land (Nehemiah 9:7-8); then details the wonderful provision that YHWH had continually made for His undeserving people, and the way that He had continually delivered them again and again in spite of their continual sins and rebellions, and concludes by pointing out their present situation as subservient to the kings of Persia. In consequence of this they now declare their intention to make a sure covenant with Him, a covenant which follows in chapter 11. They do not ask for any reward for doing this. They leave it to God to decide what He will do.